Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Humans are exposed daily to numerous chemicals that can harm their health Many harmful organic compounds are stable in the environment (atmosphere, water, soil, food chain) for long periods Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) - Characterised by stability, mobility, and bioaccumulation - Harmful to human health and produce ecological damage Stockholm Convention (May 2001): over 90 countries promised to reduce or eliminate the production, use, and release of 12 key POPs the dirty dozen.
1
POP
Aldrin Chlordane
Use
Crop insecticide (corn, cotton) Crop insecticide (vegetables, citrus, cotton, potatoes) Crop insecticide (cotton)
Structure
Heptachlor
Fungicide for seed treatment Insecticide (termites, fire ants) Insecticide (livestock, crops) Industrial chemical (paint and plastic additive) Unintentionally produced during combustion Unintentionally produced during combustion
Dioxins
Furans
Organic biocides
Fate of biocides in the environment:
Chemical stability (rate it degrades to other compounds)
Mobility (mechanism and rate of transport)
Different degradation mechanisms may operate as the pesticide moves to a new environment
Degradation products may have biocidal properties:
Usually reduced toxicity, but sometimes toxicity is enhanced
Polychlorinated Hydrocarbons
All the Dirty Dozen are polychlorinated hydrocarbons
They are stable and do not readily degrade to less toxic forms Persist in the environment for a long time and can bioaccumulate through the food chains Insoluble in water, soluble in fats
Polychlorinated hydrocarbons of particular concern are:
DDT
dioxins
PCBs
Pesticide production
Few pesticides were available before 1940:
Some natural insect poisons extracted from plants Early insecticides were nicotine sulfate obtained from tobacco, retenone from the tropical derris plant and garlic oil A few inorganic compounds of lead and arsenic
Large scale use of pesticides began after WWII with the introduction of DDT
DDT
At its introduction it seemed to be an ideal insecticide: Cheap to produce Apparently non-toxic to humans and other mammals Did not breakdown easily continued to kill insects for a long time after application
1940s Rapid development in WW2 to combat malaria, typhus, and other mosquito-borne diseases in military & civilian populations - Following WW2, extensive use of DDT contributed to eradication of malaria in America & Europe
1948 Mller awarded Nobel Prize 1950s A WHO campaign to eradicate malaria was based on extensive spraying with DDT a marked reduction in malaria mortality rate was found mortality rate dropped from 192 to 7 per 100,000 8 - increasing resistance to DDT was found in pests
1970s-80s ban on DDT use in Western countries; recovery of affected bird populations DDT use continued in developing countries, but widespread spraying discontinued. Insecticide impregnated bednets and indoor spraying favoured. 2001 Stockholm convention, restricting DDT use to health crises
9
DDT
Chemical stability: DDT degrades to DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene)
DDE is less toxic than DDT but more resilient in the environment
10
DDT
DDT has a broad spectrum of activity. It was banned in several countries in the 1970s because of ecological considerations Still used extensively to reduce insect-transmitted diseases:
yellow fever, sleeping sickness, typhus, malaria and others
11
DDT
Readily adsorbed onto sediments and soil Most DDT that enters water becomes firmly attached to soil particles Readily taken up by microorganisms and is therefore passed on through the food chain Normally stored in fatty tissue
12
13
14
Acute exposure: Acute toxicity of DDT is high in insects and lower in mammals. Large doses causes focal necrosis of liver cells in several species. It increases liver tumours in mice
16
17